A wildfire raged across an upscale section of Los Angeles on Tuesday, sending large billows of smoke over much of the metropolitan area and causing traffic jams as people fled their homes under evacuation orders.At least 1,262 acres (510 hectares) of the Pacific Palisades area between Santa Monica and Malibu had burned, officials said, after they had already warned of extreme fire danger from dry, powerful winds. The size of the fire grew sixfold in a matter of hours on Tuesday.Witnesses reported a number homes on fire with flames nearly scorching their cars when people fled the hills of Topanga Canyon, as the fire spread from there down to the Pacific Ocean.

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer met with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan at the White House, Walla reported on Wednesday, citing two sources familiar with the subject.

Turkey will carry out a cross-border offensive into northeastern Syria against the Kurdish YPG militia if the group does not meet Ankara's demands, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Tuesday, while adding that Syria's new rulers must address the issue.Turkey considers the YPG, which spearheads the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as a terrorist group linked to Kurdish militants waging a decades-old insurgency against the Turkish state. It has carried out several incursions against the group in the past.Speaking to broadcaster CNN Turk, Fidan also said President Tayyip Erdogan had given orders for Turkish soldiers to take over the management of prisons and camps in northeastern Syria holding Islamic State members - currently run by the SDF - if the new Syrian leadership is unable to do so.

President-elect Donald Trump said on Tuesday he sympathized with the Russian position that Ukraine should not be part of NATO, and he lamented that he will not meet Russian President Vladimir Putin before his inauguration.Speaking at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump also blamed outgoing Democratic President Joe Biden for allegedly changing the U.S. position on NATO membership for Ukraine."A big part of the problem is, Russia - for many, many years, long before Putin - said, 'You could never have NATO involved with Ukraine.' Now, they've said that. That's been, like, written in stone," Trump said."And somewhere along the line Biden said, 'No. They should be able to join NATO.' Well, then Russia has somebody right on their doorstep, and I could understand their feelings about that."Members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have officially expressed support for Ukraine's eventual membership since the Bucharest Summit of 2008, and the Biden administration continues to support Ukraine's eventual NATO accession, though Ukraine has never been extended an invitation.